2010 Winning Essays
Thirteen winning essays from the 2010 contest year of the Young Naturalist Awards by students from grade 7 - 12. Winning essays ranged from an exploration of the exit tunnels made by the goldenrod gallfly, to the degradation of our fresh water systems, to a study of snapping turtles in an urban setting.
Article
Ethology of Friendship Among Adult Male Bonnet Macaques, Macaca radiata, at Arunachala Hill, India
For this 13-year-old, a highlight of his family's annual visit to the Arunachala Mountain in southern India is watching and interacting with the bonnet macaques. Find out what he learned when he investigated the monkeys' social structure.
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Cryptic Species and Synonyms: A Reclassification of the Tropical Spurilla Genus
This young naturalist traveled to the Gulf of Mexico to see whether the differences in two types of sea slugs were great enough to warrant their being classified as a different species.
Article
Cleaning the Water
With an appreciation for the scarcity of fresh drinkable water, this young naturalist set out to test methods for filtering the contaminated poultry house water on his family’s farm.
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Bear Brook: Strong Evidence of Pollution
To the human eye, Bear Brook seemed devoid of life. But was that really the case? See how this young naturalist investigated the brook's ability to sustain life.
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The Role of Microbial Communities in the Breakdown of Wastewater Pharmaceuticals
Increasingly, pharmaceuticals are being detected in the environment, which can endanger wildlife. This young naturalist examined whether bacterial species could aid water treatment.
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Trails in the Snow: The Effects of Reforestation on Mammal Distribution in the Baraboo Hills
The first snowfalls of winter have transformed the landscape into a pristine, silent, unscathed world. The sounds of birds and animals that are so casual in other seasons are now magnified by silence. The bark of a squirrel is crisp and suspended in time, like the lingering imprint her paws leave on the snow. Winter is the invigorating cold, the silent struggles for survival, the stories written by paws and hooves on the snow; small details that could easily not be noticed.
Article
Diversity of Foliar Endophytes in Wild and Cultured Metrosideros Polymorpa Inferred from Environmental PCR and ITS Sequence Data
This young naturalist from Hawaii set out the answer the question: Which comes first, the ohi'a lehua tree or the mushroom that uses it as a host?
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Which Way Out--A Study of the Exit Tunnels Made by the Goldenrod Gall Fly, Eurosta solidaginis
Monarch butterflies have an internal magnetic compass that guides their migration. Is a similar force at work guiding the gall fly’s exit tunnels? See what this young naturalist discovered.
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Effects of the Aquatic Environment on Growth of the Amphibian Pathogen Bactrachochytrium dendrobatidis
Amphibians have thrived on Earth through two major Ice Ages and four global warming periods, yet a fungus now threatens them worldwide — something this young naturalist wants to stop.
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Quantifying the Relative Abundance of Juvenile Atlantic Sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrhychus, in the Hudson River
For years the populations of Atlantic and shortnose sturgeons were declining, particularly in the Hudson river. This young naturalists examined whether protective measures are making a difference.
